Since this is a car related page I wanted to share
this bitter experience with my readers in the hope that it will save them the
costs I incurred with my ignorance.
After more than 30 years of being a car owner, I wanted to
kick myself for not looking closer into the costs incurred during car
registration.
Like many car owners, the CTPL or Compulsory Third-Party
Liability is considered as just a necessary part of registering a car, which it
is. However, a common misconception is that the price is standard no matter
where you get it.
In fact I recall asking the people selling before if their
prices were the same, and they said yes. Which was TRUE in that immediate area.
Little did I know that they were merely fronts for the insurance companies
which were giving what I would later learn to be overly generous commissions.
Luckily I recently overheard someone mention that he gets his insurance
online and I recalled an insurance firm offering comprehensive insurance
online.
So this year, after seeing many ads on the Internet, I
decided to get a quotation from one of the online insurance providers. Imagine
my surprise when I got a quote that was less than HALF what I was paying!
I had to register one my cars in January of this year so I
paid the insurance for it through the usual provider in the registration place.
It was 1,400 pesos. For my other car that I registered this March, the quote of
the online insurance firm was 654 pesos! This was for basically the same type
of car. It was a sedan version of the other car.
In fact, the prices were the same across nearly all types of
vehicles I tried, passenger car, van, SUV. The only price differences were
between private and for hire. This is because the coverage for all CTPL are the
same, P100,000 maximium liability as mandated by law. Therefore, it stands to
reason that the premiums would be within a certain range only.
To make sure there were no hidden charges I went ahead and
saw the process to the end. They really just charged me P640!
Now I feel so bad about all the money wasted over those 3
decades of ignorance! Of course there was no online insurance then, but I could
have looked up the main insurance companies and bypassed the middle men.
Of course there is no use crying about spilled milk but from
now on, all my CTPL will be bought directly from the insurance company, whether
online or offline. I do want to say though that online is so convenient. After
paying, you get your insurance Certificate of Cover within 24 hours. Then all
you have to do is print it.
My recommendation is if you want to save money on compulsory car insurance (CTPL), look at either buying online or directly from the insurance companies. A simple search on Facebook or straight on the the internet will provide a whole set of options for buying cheaper car insurance.
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